Chapter 9 We Are Civilized People

  The shops on the north side of Xisi Archway are more prosperous than those on the south, and the first one, Fuhe Tower, is a top-grade place in Beijing. The golden signboard shines brightly under the sun.

  Fuhe Building is famous for its steamed chicken, with a braised sauce pot that has been passed down for over a dozen generations. The fresh and savory flavor penetrates directly into the chicken bones, and everyone who has eaten it can't help but give a thumbs up and exclaim how good it is.

  The second floor east room number one, at this moment is the price of abalone and shark fin soup flowing like water, the shop assistants who come and go don't even dare to breathe loudly. Just look at the servants standing by in the house, with Old Fourth Master Rui as the leader, which one of them isn't a master who stamps their feet and trembles in this small place? Not to mention their masters.

  Ye Zhaoming was leaving the capital tomorrow, and Da Chun and a group of familiar yellow-clad youngsters were hosting a farewell dinner for him. If it were up to Da Chun, they would have invited the Sanqing Troupe to perform a lively "Three Heavens Meeting" show. However, Ye Zhaoming preferred simplicity in all things, so these young men, who looked up to Ye Zhaoming as their leader, had to suppress their desire for revelry.

  But Ye Zhao sat with them, and it was really helpless to see the behavior of these men. Da Chun was still okay, at least he was accompanied by He Hua, his sweetheart from Yan Chun's class, who was a woman after all, no matter how you looked at her.

  Looking again at the Seventh Uncle Gong's cousin, Chang San Ye, and Rui Qin Wang's seventh son De Bin, there was a rabbit official sitting next to him. Although his face was delicate and pleasing to the eye, the coquettish attitude he put on made Ye Zhaos' skin crawl with goosebumps.

  Chang San, the oldest among them, was actually the most frivolous. He teased the clever people and laughed as he raised his wine cup: "Chang San respects Young Master Wang with a toast. My ancestor said that our family, under the five banners, has finally produced someone who can share the emperor's worries. From now on, let's see who dares to gossip behind our backs." Zheng Qinwang had only one son, and these people mostly flattered Ye Zhao by calling him "Young Master Wang".

  Ye Zhaoming hastily raised his cup and drained it, saying: "Thanks, Third Brother."

  Debin, although the son of King Rui, has three older brothers and is not particularly favored by his father. Moreover, he was born with a speech impediment, making it unlikely for him to inherit the title. He spends his days idling in the brothel, his body weakened. It seems that even a gentle breeze could knock him over. Stumbling to his feet, he stuttered: "A... Ah, brother, Debin also offers you a toast, wishing you success on your journey." Perhaps he didn't even know where Ye Zhao was going or what errand he was on, but the auspicious words came from the heart, for although he was dull-witted, he knew that the eldest son of King Zheng's family was the kindest to him.

  Ye Zhao looked at him and felt a pang of sadness. In the history books of later generations, most of the imperial clan descendants were parasites, but who could they blame? According to the rules passed down by their ancestors, the imperial clan descendants could not leave Beijing City casually, nor could they engage in business or other industries. If they couldn't get a job through official channels or military service, they would have to rely on their allowance to scrape by for the rest of their lives. To say that living like this was normal would be strange indeed.

  It's just like Debin, who seems to be afraid of not living to thirty years old. If life is spent in a muddle, without experiencing the joys and sorrows of the world, what's the point of coming into this world?

  "Lao Qi, rest assured that I'll be fine after I leave. Take good care of yourself." Ye Zhaosighed and gently patted his hand.

  "I, I, I know." De Bin exerted a lot of effort to say these three words, his face turned red from holding back, and he started coughing. The rabbit official hurriedly used his handkerchief to help De Bin wipe his mouth, making Ye Zhao feel helpless.

  Da Chun glanced at De Bin with a slanted eye and couldn't help but say, "Old Seven, if you can't hold your liquor, drink less, or else you'll choke to death later." Then he turned his head to Ye Zhao and said, "Brother, those foreigners don't listen to reason, so don't be polite to them either, just take out your guns and fight it out with them."

  Ye Zhao bitterly smiled and nodded.

  As they spoke, the conversation gradually turned to romantic and frivolous topics. Chang San laughed so hard that he lost his composure, and asked Ye Zha: "I heard you've taken in a concubine? Does the old king know about this?"

  Ye Zhao glared at Da Chun, and Da Chun immediately shouted "Sui Tian Qu": "This isn't what I said! Hey, Third Brother, speak clearly, was it me you were talking to? Don't wrong a good person!"

  You little scoundrel, you told me one thing, but now you're trying to welch on the deal in front of Jingxiang!

  Ye Zhaoming knew that Da Chun was a rascal, but he wouldn't say anything more. The fact that there were women coming and going from his siheyuan in Wangjia Alley wasn't a secret, and it was likely that someone with ulterior motives would discover it.

  Ye Zhao smiled and said: "It's just a matter of time, Third Brother's nose is really useful, I'll bring her along this time."

  I had already agreed with Su Hongniang, and it just so happened that I could take her and Old Man Su to Shanghai on the way. Once in Shanghai, she could either rush to Tianjing to join the Taiping Army or head back to her own territory via Guangzhou, both of which would be very convenient and much safer. When I returned, all I had to say was that she had run away.

  The beautiful woman with a delicate face and eyebrows, sitting next to Ye Zhao, was Cui Xian, the red girl of Yan Chun Yuan. She had just arrived from Zhigu recently. With her clever mind, she had long wanted to win over Da Liu Ye, the most noble guest of Yan Chun Yuan, but Da Liu Ye was infatuated with He Hua's little tricks, and He Hua's skills were not ordinary either, making it difficult for Cui Xian to snatch food from her mouth.

  Today I heard that Da Liu Ye is hosting a banquet and the first one he invited was Cui Xian. At that time, Cui Xian was overjoyed and thought to herself: "So Da Liu Ye had his eyes on me all along."

  But unexpectedly, upon arriving at the Fuhe Building, she realized that things weren't as simple as they seemed. The person she was supposed to accompany turned out to be someone else. Although he was refined and elegant, Cui Xian couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. However, when she saw He Hua's envious and resentful expression, Cui Xian took notice and listened more carefully to the conversation. It gradually dawned on her that this was a gathering of wealthy young masters, and Cui Xian felt dizzy with excitement, realizing that she had stumbled upon something valuable. No wonder He Hua looked so displeased.

  However, seeing Ye Zhaoye's proper demeanor, Cui Xian didn't dare to be presumptuous, only helping Ye Zhaoye pour wine and serve dishes. Occasionally, she would lightly bump her chest against Ye Zhaoye's arm, but it seemed like an unintentional act.

  But as soon as they started talking about the romantic affairs, those two men with rabbit-like faces began to get restless, while this young master still didn't even glance at himself. Cui Xian couldn't help but feel anxious, seeing Ye Zhao's wine cup was empty, she quickly refilled it and said in a soft voice: "Sir, wine is a poison that pierces the intestines, drink less."

  Da Chun burst out laughing and said to Ye Zhao, "Look, someone's getting jealous, aren't they? Tonight, brother won't be going back." He called out for Cui Xian to come out because Da Chun had never touched her. The unwritten rule in the brothel was that a friend's woman was off-limits, and if someone took a liking to a girl his friend knew, she would have to decline. Of course, after some twists and turns, playing some tricks, it was possible to make a move on the girl, and the slang term for this was "cutting off the waistband".

  Da Chun is a particular person and naturally wouldn't find a girl he had been involved with to accompany Ye Zhao.

  Cui Xian's heart was filled with joy, but she blushed and lowered her head in silence.

  At this time, a burst of laughter came from the west wing, a man's lewd voice: "That little white buttocks, really slippery, even grandma's old man wants to touch it!"

  The two compartments were only separated by a thin wooden board, and the soundproofing was naturally poor. It's also an extremely common thing. Who knew that the man on the other side had obviously drunk too much, speaking louder and louder, with his laughter getting more and more boisterous.

  Ye Zhaoye clearly heard that the man was boasting about how he had framed a rival in his hometown. From his words, it seemed that he came from a rural area in Hunan Province. A farmer's wife had somehow offended him, and he had designed a trap to harm her family. He falsely accused the farmer's wife of adultery and reported it to the authorities. The county magistrate appeared to be intimidated by him and sentenced the young woman to flogging.

  Ye Zhaowu's eyebrows furrowed, a woman who committed adultery and was sentenced to flogging would have to undress and receive the flogging, which meant removing her pants and being spanked on the buttocks.

  For a woman who has been caned, to be stripped naked from the waist down in public is no less painful than death itself, especially in this era of propriety and etiquette, such humiliation is simply infuriating.

  But then the man was still proudly boasting: "I didn't hit him, hitting him is nothing to brag about. I just looked at his wife's ass and called everyone to look at his wife's ass! If I had known earlier, I would have gone to be a cop for a few days too. That son of a bitch even dared to tell me that he had touched a few times!"

  Another burst of laughter came from over there.

  "Damn it, this thing is useless!"

  Da Chun's eyebrows had already been raised, seeing Ye Zhao scolding on the street. Needless to say, he slapped the table and stood up, with Chang San and several yellow belts following behind him in a rush. Those miscellaneous servants and attendants followed closely behind. Only De Bin was dazed and looked around, unaware of what had happened.

  Then I heard the sound of furniture falling and dishes shattering from next door, along with cries of alarm. The man shouted in a hoarse voice: "My ancestor is Zeng Bohan, the leader of the Hengzhou militia! You... Ah!" A blood-curdling scream followed, and it seemed he had been beaten again.

  Ye Zhao was slightly moved, Hengzhou Tuanlian? Zeng Bohan? Wen Zheng Gong? But he didn't think that the person next door would be a relative of Zeng Wenzheng, and yet his character was too low.

  But let's not say that Zeng Guofan's reputation is no longer prominent now, even if he becomes a Grand Scholar or a First-Class Marquis in the future, will these yellow belts really put him in their eyes?

  The mournful cries did not stop, Ye Zhaoslowly savored a mouthful of wine, but unexpectedly, his first encounter with Zeng Wen Zheng began like this. Regardless of who was right or wrong, it seemed that they had already started off on the wrong foot.

  That side of the room, Da Chun seemed exhausted, loudly shouting: "Damn it, you're all going to be sent to the Heavenly Palace, today I'll deal with you!"

  Even if it's a distant relative, this case will really make Zeng Guofan lose face when it goes to court.

  Ye Zhao did not go to dissuade Da Chun, and instead made an enemy of this future heavyweight figure. How would it affect his own plan to revive the country's fortunes? A person must be able to live with their own conscience.